Use a K-W-L Chart with Informational Texts

The purpose of the K-W-L chart or teaching strategy is to help students become good readers by learning to do the things that good readers do. Specifically, it helps students learn to activate their background knowledge and to set purposes for reading.

KWL stands for: What I Know, What I Want to Learn, and reviewing What I Have Learned.

The following chart shows the steps in each part of the procedure:

What I Know

Students discuss what they already know about a subject or topic in the text they will be reading. The teacher has child list ideas and concepts related to the topic; then has students organize their ideas into broad categories.

What I Want To Learn

Children discuss what they want to learn from reading the text and write down specific questions that they think may be answered in the text.

What I Learned

After reading the text, students discuss what they learned from it. Next, they write what they learned and answer specific questions about topics that were addressed in the text.